From here to...well...it SEEMS like an eternity

[Cap Mandrake]

ORIGINAL: witpqs

Wrong uniform and rank...but rite attitude.

[Cap Mandrake]

********Cape Sansapor, NW New Guinea, 08:20, May 10, 1943******

All told, some 100 Jap Vals and Kates have done violence to the Allied base at Cape Sansapor. In the event, all Allied shipping has departed safely and even the Coronados were withdrawn last night because of fuel shortages.

Lt. Col Leggatt: <surveys his defensive positions. Smoke rises from the tree line> Casulaties?

XO: Six, sir.

Lt. Col Leggatt: And damage to the airstrip?

XO: Two taro plants were destroyed sir....

[Cap Mandrake]

****Sitrep, New Guinea, the Moluccas and Sulawese, May 10, 1943***

Cape Sansapor: C-47's are flying in a KNIL aviation support Bn. from Babo. The first to arrive on the morning of the 9th had to dodge two holes in the "field". Shortly before their arrival, the base had been raided by over 120 elite carrer planes (well, the pilots at least..I guess). Two prized taro roots were damaged and a Lewis machine gun had some dirt on its barrel. It was a surprise to see 5 Jap carriers only 450 m from Babo but the choice of target was odd. Sansapor had not been reconned. Perhaps the Japs hoped to catch fighters on the ground or surprise shipping on its way to Sansapor. In fact, a minelaying group of two USN DM's was held back at Babo instead of its planned mission to Sansapor because all fighters were already tasked. The big prize was at Babo, where AP's
were embarking the 32nd US ID. Already some 18,000 were aboard ship. Another 3-4K engineering troops were dismebarking. There was one Dutch B-25 group on naval attack which "chose" not to attack. They would have been slaughtered, of course.

For the 10th, the order comes down for the P-38 to go to naval escort duty and all the B-25's to naval attack. A certain captain is not going to be happy about this. Shipping at Babo will sprint toward Darwin or Kai except for one AK which is to act as a target to lure the carrier planes into the CAP over Babo (don't anybody tell the captain of the vessel, OK?). Most likely, the carriers will disappear back to where they came from...Truk?

Kai: Kai Island is now a major base and any attack here would be costly but there are some valuable assets there. There is some barge traffic headed toward Namlea but they are on their own.

Sulawese: There are now nealy 50 bombers at Makassar in SW Sulawese (out of range of my P-38's). There are now also Jap aircraft at Samarinda on NE Borneo. It might still be possible to go for Morotai and Manado, but not unitl the carriers retire.

[Cap Mandrake]

This is what the two plants looked like before they were barbecued by the IJN.

[witpqs]

After barbecue...

[Cap Mandrake]

*******Babo Field, New Guinea, temporary bivoac 90th BS(M), USAAF, 17:40, May 9 , 1943(b)*****


A young man in crisp linen pants and a fine silk shirt listens with his eyes closed to a passage from Mozart's oboe conerto. A tall, hirsute man in a dishevled USAAF uniform with no rank insignia stands in the middle of the tent.

M.M.: Yossarian, you uncultured SOB, just shut and listen for a minute. <both men grow quiet. The orchestra seems to answer the solo oboe in a call and response fashion. After a short while, the younger man takes a sip of Port and begins to speak> Ahhhh...that is sublime. Yossarian, you manic SOB, you just need to slow down and enjoy life a bit. Stop worrying so much.

Yossarian: Milo, you crazy SOB, I AM trying to enjoy life. It's that crazy SOB Cathcart and the Japanese Navy that have other ideas. There are 5 jap carriers not 450 miles from here and Cathcart volunteered us again to go after them. Do you even know how many Zeroes they will have trying to kill me? Have you ever seen a Zero? They are fast and they have guns. Even worse, they have crazy little yellow bastards inside and they all have order to kill me. And if we get past them, those boys on the ships are not going to be too happy either.

M.M.: Yosarian, you crazy, neurotic, SOB, those crazy little yellow bastards don't have orders to kill you personally.

Yossarian: Well then, it must be some kind of racial predestiny because when they point their guns at me and pull the trigger, it doesn't matter to me whether it was the Emperor or some bad chemicals that made them do it. They are STILL trying to kill me.

M.M.: Yossarian, I underestimated you. "Predestiny"...my, my, my. Let me see if I understand. The Colonel wants you to attack the Japs but the Japs are trying to kill you. You want to live, so you don't want to attack the Japs. The problem is, if you don't attack the Japs, the United States Army Air Force will throw you in Leavenworth. You don't want to go to Leavenworth. Do I have it right so far?

Yossarian: Pretty much. I don't want to get killed and do this all over again.

M.M.: Yossarian, you are the craziest SOB I know. Did I tell you that?

Yossarian: Today, you mean?

M.M.: Yossarian, I like you, you crazy SOB. Here is what I am going to do. Do you know what a warrant to purchase is.......

[rtrapasso]

M.M.: Yossarian, I like you, you crazy SOB. Here is what I am going to do. Do you know what a warrant to purchase is.......

Some years later, M.M. invents Credit Default Swaps, and puts my retirement plan in serious jeapordy... [:@] [:'(]

[Cap Mandrake]

******5th Air Force HQ, near Charter Towers, 20:15, May 9, 1943*****


Gen. Kenney: <on the radio> Dear God, I had no idea it was so bad, over.......

You are right, sir. It is MAY and it is colder than Hell. Where are all the damn flowers? It is Spring, for Christ's sake, over.....

Duplex B-25 de-icers? Over.....

40 amperes? That sounds great. We simply cannot allow a cooling climate to render 5th Air Force impotent. I quite agree. I just don't like the sound of that.."impotent", I mean, over....

Wonderful! When can you deliver? Over.....

What a country, eh? Very well, tell me more about this warrant to purchase, over......

What is it trading at now? Over.....

[Cap Mandrake]

ORIGINAL: rtrapasso

M.M.: Yossarian, I like you, you crazy SOB. Here is what I am going to do. Do you know what a warrant to purchase is.......

Some years later, M.M. invents Credit Default Swaps, and puts my retirement plan in serious jeapordy... [:@] [:'(]

Yes, there is that, but you have to admit it has been very good Philippino gold.

[Cap Mandrake]

...

[Cap Mandrake]

*********Babo Field, 13:20, May 10, 1943*******

A C-47 taxis to a stop. Before the props haves stopped turning, an officer waves a group of men toward the plane.

Cpt. Montooth, 90th BS Chief Maint. Officer: OK, get those new de-icers off the plane. Col. Cathcart wants those installed pronto. <a heavy wooden crate is dragged from the C-47. It is stenciled "M&M Enterprises/40 Ampere De-icer kits">

Get this open! <prybars go to work. He grabs a document labeled "Installation instructions/B-25J/DDI/MM"

[Cap Mandrake]

*****Sitrep, New Guinea, Sulawese and the Moluccas, May 12, 1943*****

Babo: While the B-25J's at Babo are being retrofitted with the 40 ampere duplex units on the 10th, the Jap carriers steam Eastward toward Trunk. Of course, this could be a set up. The 32nd ID and 12th Aus Brigade TF's race to safety at Darwin. The AK's bearing the engineering units transit safely to Kai. The Coronados have redeployed to Sansapor. Tentatively, the Dutch landing troops for Morotai depart Kai aboard LCT's. On the 11th, TWO Jap carrier TF's have resumed positions off Cape Sansapor. The Morotai and Menado landings will have to wait. Non-essential shipping at Kai is ordered back to Darwin. With their new duplex de-icers, all the B-25J's at Babo are orderd to prepare for naval attack with support from some 60 P-38's. The Coronados at Sansapor will stay for now..on the lookout for a possible Jap landing force for Sansapor or a move of the Jap carriers toward Kai.

[rtrapasso]

******5th Air Force HQ, near Charter Towers, 20:15, May 9, 1943*****


Gen. Kenney: <on the radio> Dear God, I had no idea it was so bad, over.......

You are right, sir. It is MAY and it is colder than Hell. Where are all the damn flowers? It is Spring, for Christ's sake, over...

i take it Gen. Kenney received poor marks in geography, and i guess he was sleeping in class when they talked about the Southern Hemisphere... [:D]

[BrucePowers]

I say Huzah for Truman[8D]

[rtrapasso]

ORIGINAL: BrucePowers

I say Huzah for Truman[8D]

the more i read about the Presidents (including Truman) the more i am unpleasantly surprised... [:(]

[Cap Mandrake]

*********Cape Sansapor, 18:20, May 13, 1943**********


Lt. Col. Leggatt: <Surveying the primitive airstrip after nearly 100 carrier-based planes have departed. A Jap torpedo bomber burns at the NW corner> What is the damage?

XO: 3 mature taro plants destroyed and a banana tree with some splinter damage. One case of Spam is just shot to Hell.

Lt. Col. Leggatt: Spam? The bloody bastards! Major, I am beginning to think we are not welcome here. Yesterday 40 Bettys and today 100 carrier aircraft.

XO: It does seem that way, sir.............

[Cap Mandrake]

I would like to get some fighters into Sansapor but the supply thing is the problem. A Jap Betty raid on Sparrow Bn on the 12th and now another airfield attack by carrier planes on the 13th have dinged the supply a bit. The Coronados are undamaged and Sparrow Bn and the Dutch air support troops are in great shape.

I suspect it was the threat to the Northern coast of New Guinea that has prompted this kind of response.

The B-25's at Babo again refuse to attack. Apparently they are having some trouble with the retrofits.

The last Jap raid at Sansapor had only 8 zeroes. Perhaps some long range CAP from Babo would dissuade them.

[USSAmerica]

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

So about 7 months ago I sort of forgot to pay my gas bill.....twice [:D]

The first time, the Gas Guy came out during the middle of the day and my Mayan houskeeper let him in. He turned off the bloody gas and politely reminded me to change the filter on my water heater. It cost me $35 dollars to get it turned it back on. I had to take cold showers for two days and it had nothing to do with Stalker Girl, either. I tried to sign up with on-line billing but somebody punched the wrong chad on my IBM card and the same thing happened again. [:D] The Gas Guy came out again and my Mayan housekeeper let him in again. He turned off my gas again but this time I think he was pissed as he didn't leave my any polite reminders about my filter. Honestly, I don't know what he was pissed about, at least he had something to do and I was the one who had to take the cold showers again. Anyway, he wasn't the only one who was pissed. The Gas company were REALLY pissed. I had to pay the $35 again and this time, owing to my dead beat status, I had to pay a $500 deposit to be refunded if I behaved myself for one year.

So the other morning I am paying my gas bill (it comes online now [:)]) and I decide to find out about my $500. I call the Gas Lady and she is really nice. She tells me in a slightly patronizing manner...I'm not kidding..she slowed way down and enunciated clearly and used small words...that I can have my $500 back in July IF I make my payments on time. As a gag I ask what am I earning and she says 3% [X(] Holy Hell! Do you realize how good that is? I ask her if I can move my whole 401-K in with them or maybe an IRA Rollover or two.

She pauses....then politely says..."hmmmm, I'll have to ask my supervisor, let me put you on hold Mr. Mandrake"

Mandrake, that's outstanding!

I wonder if they will sign up customers in North Carolina? Hmmmm.....

[Cap Mandrake]

******Sitrep: Siam, Burma, Malaya and Sumatra, May 15, 1943********


Bandou: Malaya Army is still having supply problems but a flanking attack by 254th Armour along the Indian Ocean coast has borne fruit as they have now outflanked the 25K+ troops at Bandou. I dont know if Jap supply will get through to Bandou. I suspect it will have to be abandoned.

Bangkok: There is a new Jap brigade there bringing the strength up to 3 1/2 div-equivalents and a great deal of artillery. Allied air has been concentrating on softening up the Burma Area Army pocket and at Bandou. No chance of a frontal assault at Bangkok for now, instead a Chindit brigade has got partly behind them and there will be a shock attack on the Burma Are Army to try to get some armour across the river and seize one or two bases in Indochina. If the armour ends up in the wrong place then the Burma Area Army will partly escape.

Burma Road: The Jap 21st Mixed Brigade is weakening and should fall within the week (I hope).

Sabang: The airfield at Sabang (northwest Sumatra) was discovered to have 70-80 bombers but no fighters. On the 12th, P-38's and B-25's from Victoria Point as well as USAAF heavies from Moulmein destroyed dozens of Jap bombers on the ground.

[Cap Mandrake]

Major Combat Units of SWPac:

Australian 1st Army is now embarked for Amboina.

Australian I Corps was orignially dedicated to an invasion of Eastern Timor (Lautem). This has been cancelled in order to speed the pace of advance.

32nd US and 12th Aus. Brigade took Babo and are now being refitted in Darwin for future ops in the PI.

Sparrow Force is at Sansapor.

Barisan Regt. is embarked for Morotai.

Borneo Regt(-) is prepping for Manado.